Social Documentary Photography

The world can be a brutal place. Perhaps worse than natural disaster is man's cruelty or indifference to his fellow man. Social documentary photography is a compassionate view of the injustice in the world. The movement started in the 19th century, when cities -- and poverty -- grew at an alarming rate. This was documented by photographers including Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine. During the Great Depression, the U.S. Farm Security Administration hired photographers to document farmers hit hard by the Dust Bowl and the collapse in commodity prices. FSA photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Gordon Parks showed the plight of the socially distressed. More recent social documentary photographers include Don McCullin and Manuel Rivera-Ortiz.

Minor local contrast enhancement and burning and dodging for emphasis are acceptable.

No composite images except for stitching panoramas or HDR: the result must be seamless.

No adding, moving, or deleting objects in the image. Use of clone or paint tools prohibited, as are advanced image processing techniques that alter the relationship between objects in the frame.

All post processing should be aimed at improving the technical quality of the image and must not change the documentary content and basic reality of the image.

Capture date rules:

No restrictions.

Additional rules:

Justice is the virtue of giving someone their due; and injustice is therefore denying someone that which is due to them by right. Social injustice encompasses injustice on a large scale. Attempt to show injustice in a photograph.

While injustice usually is the theme of social documentary photography, you can go beyond this a bit.

'Compassion' comes from Latin and means "to suffer with". Try to take a compassionate photo, which infuses the viewer with the suffering that you saw before your camera.

Do *you* have compassion for your subject?

Take a realistic photo. Do not contrive situations before your camera. Be honest, even if it is painful.

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